


Sickeningly Stubborn

by EggplantBoi



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Fake AH Crew, Fluff and Humor, M/M, dumb sick boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 17:07:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17666636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EggplantBoi/pseuds/EggplantBoi
Summary: A prompted fic about two stubborn and idiotic men who don't know any basic etiquette in dealing with their feelings.





	Sickeningly Stubborn

Jeremy stumbles into the penthouse kitchen later than what would probably be deemed appropriate for a heist day. Despite sleeping in late, he was still lacking in the sleep department. Jeremy never claimed to have any control of his sleeping habits, (or his life for that matter) but it’s not like the other crew members needed to know that he was running on a bare minimum of four hours.

He just needs an energy drink in his system, then he could deal with the consequences of coming down from a caffeine-high later. He raids the fridge, snagging the first neon colored can that catches his eye and rips the top off, downing as much as his lungs will allow him in one go.

After a much needed breath, he slams the fridge door shut and turns around on his heels, only to be greeted by The Vagabond standing in the doorway.

“Holy shit –” Jeremy almost drops his drink, causing him to fumble for an embarrassing amount of time. His performance earns him a low chuckle from his fellow crew member. 

“ _Jee-sus_ , Ryan. Perhaps a ‘hello’ would have been nice instead of you just standing there like a total creep.” Jeremy tries to regain his composure, feeling uneasy from Ryan’s unblinking eyes focused on him. The man only offers him a shrug. 

“Also, Isn’t it a little too early for… that?” He gestures towards The Vagabond’s signature skull mask. It was rare to see him wear it casually around the penthouse nowadays, not ever since Jeremy had been fully welcomed into the crew. Seeing Ryan wear it when it finally felt like he was fully comfortable around him, felt more disappointing to Jeremy than it probably should have. 

“Isn’t it a little late for you to have just woken up?” Ryan crosses his arms defensively, his voice noticeably muffled. Jeremy can’t tell from the mask, but he sure as hell knows Ryan is raising an eyebrow at him. 

“Listen, let’s just calm down.” Jeremy takes a few sips from his can, “I won’t question your weird mask wearing habits if you promise to not question my sleeping habits, deal?” He makes a move to slip past Ryan in the doorway, only for an arm to be blocking his way. 

“Jeremy…” Ryan eyes him down, “are you going to be okay for the heist today?” There’s something off about Ryan’s voice, and it’s not just the muffling from the mask. Jeremy can’t quite put his finger on it.  

“I’ll be fine,” Jeremy bites out. “Will you? You sound like you got a dick stuck in your throat.”

Ryan’s surprisingly taken aback by that comment. Jeremy takes that as an opportunity to shove past him. He doesn’t mean to be so mingy, but the assumption that Ryan’s back to wearing his mask around him is getting on his nerves. The lack of sleep isn’t helping.

There’s a sigh, and then, “Jeremy, what’s wrong buddy?” Ryan questions, trailing after Jeremy into the living room. 

Jeremy’s almost ready to make-up a bullshit lie to excuse his childish need to see Ryan’s face, until he hears a barely audible cough. He turns around to look up at the taller man, only to see him trying to discreetly cough into the bend of his arm. It’s a bizarre sight, to say the least.

“Ryan… are you sick?” 

Ryan croaks, “no.”

“Bullshit, Haywood.” Jeremy places his half-empty drink can on a nearby side table and advances towards him. “Take off your mask,” Jeremy’s reaching for Ryan before he can even stop himself. 

Ryan makes an attempt to escape, waving his arms fruitlessly. “Nope, mask stays on!” 

“Do you not trust me? Come on, I thought we were past this!” Jeremy’s practically chasing him now, as Ryan does his best to back-step out of the way.

“That’s not it! I just don’t –” 

Ryan chokes on his words as Jeremy tackles him onto the couch. In the heat of the scuffle, Jeremy manages to pry the mask off of Ryan’s face, only to gawk at the sight beneath him.

“You look like shit,” Jeremy snorts loudly, helpless in containing his laughter. 

Ryan pouts up at him with a wounded expression, which looks particularly hilarious when matched with his bleary eyes and snotty red nose. Jeremy couldn’t help but find that he also looks… cute? A word Jeremy never thought he would associate with The Vagabond, at least prior to seeing the man behind the mask.

“Alright, you got me,” Ryan pleas, sounding like it hurts him to speak. “Can I have my mask back now? I really don’t need the others seeing me like this.”

Ryan’s submission hurts Jeremy right in his smitten heart,  _keep it together, Dooley._ Now isn’t an appropriate time for  _feelings_. Ryan’s sick - and quite possibly stupidly stubborn. 

“Were you planning to wear this all day to hide the fact that you’re sick? Ew, have you been sneezing in this too?” Jeremy dangles the mask above his captive with a disgusted look. 

Ryan’s opens his mouth to defend his honor but Jeremy isn’t done, “did you plan to heist in this condition?!”

“Jeremy, I beg of you.” Ryan whines, making grabby hands for his mask. It’s no use considering Jeremy’s practically straddling the poor guy, keeping him down with a firm hand to his chest. 

How the hell is he supposed to deal with this manchild? 

Jeremy pauses for a moment to weigh his options. Perhaps blackmailing a sick man wasn’t exactly fair, but what else could convince someone like Ryan?

“Alright, I’ll let you have it back, on one condition.”

“And that is?” Ryan asks, clearly concerned.

“No heisting, not until you’re better. Also, you let me take care of you.”

“That sounds like two conditions,” Ryan says unimpressed, making another pointless effort to reach for his mask.   

“I’m serious, Rye. You look terrible and need some fucking rest, let me help.”

“If anyone needs to rest here, it’s you. For all I know, this could just be a ploy so you can ditch a heist day because you’re too tired for it.” 

“Oh, come on. You know I can handle a heist with barely any sleep, what we can’t handle is you sneezing and somehow shooting yourself in the foot.” Jeremy snarks to no avail. Ryan still looking like he’s not ready to give in, which was somewhat expected. 

“Alright pal, suit yourself.” Jeremy shrugs nonchalantly and starts to get up off of Ryan, fully ready to run away and take the mask with him as hostage. 

What he doesn’t expect is a firm hand grabbing at his hip, tugging him back down mid movement. Before he knows it, he’s falling flat against the man beneath him, face first into his neck with a ‘ _omph’_. 

Panicked, he rushes for purchase to push himself up,  _touching_  a lot more of Ryan than he means to. Jeremy’s face-to-face with Ryan when he finds his balance, mimicking a push-up position above him. He’s more than ready to scold Ryan for his actions, but taking in the sudden intimacy, he’s rendered speechless.

Ryan speaks for him, thankfully. “ _Yoink._  I’ll be taking that back, thank you,” the tone of his voice is ever-so-telling. Somehow in the fray, Ryan managed to steal his mask back. It’s not Jeremy’s fault he was scrambling everywhere.

Ryan’s holds the mask out of reach, keeping Jeremy trapped with a solid grip on his hip bone. “Now, we’re not gonna speak of this, promise?”

“No fucking way, you’re sick, Ryan. I don’t care if you think you’re too goddamn ‘tough’ to get take a day off, but you need to relax. Let me take care of you, for Christ’s sake.” Jeremy demands, his arms starting to hurt given his position. 

Ryan frowns, “why are you so insistent in taking care of me? You’ve got other shit to –”

Jeremy interrupts him, the volume of his voice wavering.“ _Oh_ , I don’t know,  _Ryan_. Maybe because I  _care_  about you?”  

He stares point blank into Ryan’s wide eyes - deep pools that reflect the thoughts racing through his head. Ryan looks like he wants to say something, but Jeremy beats him to it.

“Look, you don’t have to care about me back, but we’re a team now. You and I both also know the others would hate to know that you’re pretending that you’re fine when you’re clearly not.” Jeremy tries to get up, but Ryan won’t let go of him. “Please, just let me –” 

“I care about you,” spills from Ryan’s mouth, his brain finally caught up with his mouth. “Too. I care about you, too.” He still sounds in pain, but maybe for more reasons than one. 

Jeremy seizes-up, then relaxes into the hold Ryan has on him. He wants to look the older man in the eyes, but Ryan’s facing away from him as the redness on his cheeks deepens, a shade much healthier than his sickly looking fluster.

“I’m sorry for trying to hide behind a mask, Jeremy. I just didn’t want to be a burden. Y’know how the crew gets, the last thing I wanted was to cause a scene just because of a stupid cold.” Ryan drops the mask to the floor, his now free hand coming up to rest on Jeremy’s face, returning his gaze there too.

“Rye?” Jeremy regrets wanting Ryan to look at him now, because honestly, he can’t quite handle it. The contact of Ryan’s palm makes his cheeks flare up, heartened by a simple touch.

“Honestly, I trust you the more than anyone. I know you probably think that sounds silly, considering you’re our newest member but...” Ryan breaks his speech to sniffle, causing Jeremy to giggle under his breath. “There’s something special about you, Jeremy Dooley. I’m sorry for how lame and gross I am right now.” 

“Nah, you’re alright Ryan. I like lame and gross.” Jeremy beams and Ryan returns his smile. Jeremy wants to kiss it.

Maybe, just maybe, he  _could_. He leans into Ryan’s hand, pushing himself forward, inching closer and closer –

“I don’t want to get you sick,” Ryan rasps out as Jeremy’s lips hover over his own.

“Please, I’ve been practically humping you for the past five minutes. If I haven’t caught something by now –” jeremy cuts himself off by planting his mouth straight onto Ryan’s, their lips sealing tightly together. It’s brief and chaste, but carries promise of something  _more_.  

Jeremy draws back slowly, amused at how lost Ryan looks without Jeremy’s lips for him to kiss.

“Now, if I  _do_  get sick, you get to return the favor and show me just how much you care about me,” Jeremy grins devilishly, placing one last kiss onto Ryan’s forehead before snuggling into him. 

“Goddamnit, Jer - ra - ah - ah –” Ryan sneezes abruptly, deliberating and thankfully avoiding Jeremy’s general direction. 

“Ew, shut up.” Jeremy teases.

“I’m gonna say the exact same thing to you when you get sick,” Ryan murmurs and Jeremy chuckles against his chest.

“We’ll see about that.”

—

“Guess who made soup!”

“Nnnngh, fuck off.”

Jeremy’s currently bundled up in a mountain of blankets in his bed, looking pretty ridiculous. Living in Los Santos instead of Boston really helped him forget how much being sick sucks ass. ‘No more kissing sick people’ is a lesson well learned.

“Aw, don’t be like that, unless you don’t want some clam chowder.” Ryan announces as he sets the tray down on Jeremy’s legs, looking more than pleased with himself.

“Clam chowder?” Jeremy squints up at Ryan from his blanket kingdom, like an an angry little turtle poking from out of its shell.

“Mmhmm, I did my best! I’m sorry if it isn’t Boston enough for ya’, but hopefully it will do.” Ryan ruffles a hand through Jeremy’s colorful hair as he gives his forehead a quick kiss, settling himself down beside him on the bed. “Nothing quite like soup when you’re ill, am I right?”

“You’re the best,” Jeremy admits ruefully, releasing a hand from his cocoon to take a spoonful. 

The first drop of soup is burning, but Jeremy doesn’t care as the heat runs down and soothes his sore throat. Ryan watches him patiently as he eats, obviously eager for a review. The taste is nothing if not delicious, and reminds Jeremy of what  _home_  feels like. Warm, loving and if at times chaotic.

_Ryan._

“It’s perfect,” Jeremy gasps, slurping down another spoonful, unable to hide his delight.

“ _Really?_ ” Ryan asks all giddy, “did I do goo?”

“Yeah, you did goo.” Jeremy snorts, curling up against Ryan’s frame. An arm automatically pulls him in, and Jeremy would dare to say that he feels better already.

“I explained to Geoff and Jack why you weren’t able to work today,” Ryan casually mentions as he’s lazily circling his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder.

“Oh, what’d they say?” Jeremy says over a mouthful.

“That we’re gross.” 

Jeremy almost gags on his heavy helping of clam chowder from laughing, “Fair enough,” he wheezes.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and for any comments and/or kudos!<3


End file.
